I apologize for not posting a blog entry for about a year—-I’ve had a lot on my mind, but those thoughts went mostly into finishing a book about overcoming negative religious cultural experiences, even negative religiosity, and deepening our worship—whatever your belief system or religion—into the soils of love and authentic fellowship. Something unique about this book is that I felt the presence of my son Skyler (Bear) while writing it and dedicating the book to him as if we co-authored it. I invite you to check it out:
https://www.ignitingtheholyflame.com/
This book is not a Launching Leaders production, though much of its content expands some aspects of what LL teaches—authors tend to speak from the same heart in their various books—at least I do. For example, continuing to discover and live into our true identity is a chapter by itself. Piggy backing on this concept is what I want to share in this entry.
To be very vulnerable, this year I recently turned 68 years old. Two of my long-time mentors passed away in the past two years, and one of my first and life-long mentors is in his 82nd year—still leading the way in LL and is a continuous mentor to me. In his words to me many times, I say to him “You better not die on me.” The clock is ticking.
I’ve been contemplating how to make a difference this new year. The book took over three years to write, and since it went live this last month, frankly, it’s left me wandering in the streets at night contemplating my next move. In my earlier entrepreneurial years, I was on a hamster wheel that kept me moving constantly without as much deep thought required in making my next move. Survival was the next move. But in recent years (in partial retirement), the steps ahead are much more intentional. I know those in my age category get it.
To compound this anxious feeling, my daughter, who lives next door advised me that I need to start going thru “stuff” and deciding what I really need to keep. So, we started recently to pull boxes out of the basement storage. She and I are going thru a lifetime of records, tossing the stuff that is not relevant anymore, and handing to her 12-year-old son (my grandson) the papers that need shredding. This is not an easy process, though it should be liberating.
I saw records of rental properties that we sold long ago, and I wondered about the lives of some of the tenants. I was explaining this tug-of-war with my wife, and said “I wonder how the two ladies we loved in the old Greeley apartment building are doing?” She said, “They are probably dead.” This really comforted my anxiety through this process. Box after box we go—-bags and bags of shredded documents—loads of other “priceless” treasures enter the dump heap of life. I sat on my bed one evening and said to my wife “My life is shredded now.”

She reminded me that there are plenty of things to be excited about. Launching Leaders now has participants from over 100 countries and is available in five languages. We developed a new entrepreneurial course which goes live soon. Our grandchildren are growing up and we enjoy watching them take on a new and different world. We continue to educate ourselves through much reading and active mentoring through Launching Leaders and our local university. So why would I be anxious in this state of being?
I decided to harken back to what I’ve written about regarding the “Cycle of God’s Guidance” or sometimes called “The Cycle of Spiritual Guidance”. Without going into detail about each step, it’s worth mentioning the headlines:
- Discover your true identity
- Trust your inner voice, come what may
- Have faith to act with urgency
- Be at peace with heavens timing
- Live well
- Repeat
You can read the details of each segment in both Launching Leaders, An Empowering Journey for a New Generation, or my most recent book mentioned above. When you achieve a level of peace and contentment through this process, the changes in life don’t “shred you,” they simply provide healthy space where adjustments help you live into your purpose with peace and joy. Instead of seeing your life shredded while you cling to memories, you live intentionally to create new memories and allow the new you to make a difference—in both your inner self and in those you associate with.
Happy New Year everyone. Much love from Cedar City. I promise to be more vigilant in the entries of 2025. As always, I look forward to hearing from you and seeing you out on the trail.